Quilts! at the Art Gallery of Hamilton

Recently the Beehive was granted the exciting privilege of a private visit to the Art Gallery of Hamilton’s exhibition Quilts! A Gift from Carole and Howard Tanenbaum to the Textile Museum of Canada. As pretty much all of us are textile superfans, we gazed with reverence at the 17 quits on display, marveling at the textures, colours and skilled handwork at play in these Canadian, American and British works dating back to the 1830s.


Though many of their makers are unknown (and were certainly not releasing artist statements!) , the quilts in their distinctiveness inspired us to try to imagine the thought process involved in creating them. Pieced Quilt (1880) for example appears to have no rhyme or reason in the colour placement - the maker seemingly having worked their way through their scrap pile, moving on to one fabric as they ran out of the last. Randomness in this and other quilts through the interruption of pattern (or lack thereof) has very personal and charming effect. Equally charming are the backs of the quilts, which we attempted to sneak peeks at wherever we could and oohed and ahhed at the boro-like patchwork or sweetness of a simple cotton paisley.


Some quilts appear to have been made with a more distinct vision, or boast luxury fabrics such as brocades, printed silks, and patterned velvets. Pieced Quilt with Sawtooth Stars and Diamonds Pattern (1836) is a particularly stunning example of a quilt made with naturally dyed silk (prior to the invention of synthetic dyes 20 years later) and has maintained a rich colour palette of purples, maroons, greens and reds. The crazy quilts - irregular patchwork quilts joined through decorative embroidered borders - incorporate many different luxury fabrics as well pieces of cultural history such as Crazy Quilt in 30 Blocks (1885) which includes a ribbon showing the "Great Bridge - length 5989 feet" aka the Brooklyn Bridge which was completed in 1883.



As the quilts range from having been completed in the 1830s to the 1950s, there is some textile history to be learned in this exhibit as well. While earlier English quilts tended to start with a central medallion then finish with a distinctive border (much like an oriental carpet, as seen in Framed-medallion Quilt (1850)), by the second half of the 19th century, quilters began to structure them as a series of blocks arranged in a grid - making them easier to sew as smaller blocks could be made individually and joined later. This style of quilting is much more common today than the more labour intensive method of assembling the quilt from the centre outward. The topic of labour and time came up frequently amongst us Bees as we tried to imagine how many hours must have been invested and wondered how the makers found the time. In our current age of the instant the amount of time invested in the more complex quilts is almost unfathomable and something to be admired.


Though originally intentioned as functional pieces, the Tanenbaums (skilled art collectors) were clearly drawn to these quilts based on their aesthetic impact and artistry. In placing them on the gallery walls, we are asked to re-examine our relationship to these domestic objects that are so frequently lumped in with the curtains or the welcome mat - to consider them as works of art. These are not simply quilts, they are Quilts!


Quilts! A Gift from Carole and Howard Tanenbaum to the Textile Museum of Canada
On view until January 15, 2012
Art Gallery of Hamilton
123 King Street West | Hamilton ON | L8P 4S8
T: 905-527-6610
E: info@artgalleryofhamilton.com
artgalleryofhamilton.com

Photos by Hollie

Real Bees!

It's no secret that we're big fans of bees over in these parts. Within the last couple of years, I personally have taken a great interest in beekeeping, and dream of one day having a backyard hive of my own. When our friend Brandi decided to put bees up on the farm that we all help out on, it was like a dream come true. I was lucky enough to help Brandi, along with our friend Sean, with her first ever honey harvest a couple of weeks ago.

Oh, and just a little sidenote before we get into it - Brandi is an actual descendant of Old MacDonald. As in, Old MacDonald had a farm. Ee i ee i o. Pretty perfect for a modern beekeeping farmer, no?

Brandi has two colonies up at the farm. The first one she got in the early Spring, and the second one she added mid-Summer. It's seemed as though it was a productive year for the bees, but being Brandi's first year she wasn't sure what to expect. The three of us got together on a rainy afternoon ready to work like worker bees.

After Brandi removed the honey supers from the hives and brought them to the barn, the next step was to remove the layer of beeswax that the bees cap the combs with once they are full of honey. We took turns doing this carefully with hot knives. You can buy high-tech beekeeping electric knives that stay continually hot, but a kettle full of boiling water did the trick well enough for us.

The frames were then put into the extractor that Brandi borrowed from her fellow beekeeper friend Jess. An extractor works by placing the frames within a barrel, and then spinning them around. This removes the honey by flinging it out and allowing it to collect at the bottom of the barrel, while doing no damage to the frames so that they can be used again in the hive.

While we watched the motor running on the extractor, Sean (owner of  Downtown Bike Hounds, and a serious bike enthusiast) came up with the incredible idea of making our own extractor powered by the pedals of a bike. Maybe next year that's how we'll be doing things.

And then liquid gold poured out when we opened the spigot at the bottom of the extractor drum.

At this point, the honey is still full of small bits of wax and other debris, so it is poured into food grade containers with very fine filters, and is left to drip drip drip slowly over a period of days. It was impossible for us not to sample the goods at this point, and man oh man, I've never had better honey in my life. Sweet and floral and fragrant. We wanted to bathe in it.

Between her two hives, Brandi ended up with around 12 gallons of honey from her harvest. Not too shabby! And really, the bees did most of the work! I'm so grateful to Brandi for letting me help out and learn some of the ropes of harvesting honey. Now all I have to do is convince my husband to let me put that (illegal) backyard hive in our yard.

Beehive Excursion: Greenwood Quiltery in Guelph

Before I went to Sheridan College to study furniture/textile design, I attended the University of Guelph. I don't know how I missed it, but the entire four years that I lived in Guelph I never knew about the amazing fabric and yarn store that is Greenwood Quiltery. It was only when I met Jenna that I learned about it's existence. After all, the owner is Jenna's lovely mother, Joanne Greenberg!




Last week, Jenna, Liz, and I drove up to Guelph to visit the store. Greenwood Quiltery is located in an absolutely stunning old home just barely north of Guelph's downtown centre, on Woolwich Street. Joanne started the business in her home 10 years ago, and originally only sold fabric. Since she moved to the current location she has started carrying a selection of high quality yarn as well. Jenna had of course been in the shop countless times already and knew what to expect, but Liz and I walked around in awe, transfixed by all the lovely patterns and colours.




The selection of fabric at Greenwood Quiltery is very impressive. Joanne carries essentially all the popular contempory designers, including Heather Ross, Melody Miller, Amy Butler, Denyse Schmidt, Cloud 9 organic fabrics, and many others. And there are countless patterns and books to choose from as well.




I also really loved all the samples that Joanne and her employees had sewn up and had on display. That little girls' dress is adorable. Can I have the big girl version please?




Liz, the most devoted knitter of the three of us, was particularly drawn to the yarn section of the shop. Joanne only carries really nice yarn (like Tanis Fibre Arts, Koigu, Rowan, Cascade, Mission Falls, Spud & Chloe, etc) - you won't find any of that acrylic stuff here!

So next time you're in Guelph, go visit Greenwood Quiltery. Oh, and located on the second floor of the building is a gallery, so check that out too. And if you live in the Guelph area and are keen to learn some new sewing skills, Joanne offers a range of workshops you can choose from. So go! Go now! You'll be duly impressed.

Beehive Excursion: Knitter's Frolic

For the past 14 years, the Downtown Knit Collective have been hosting an annual Knitter's Frolic - a two day knitter's marketplace with over 50 vendors selling the finest yarns and fibre art supplies.

I attended the event last year for the first time, and was blown away at the sheer volume of yarn to be had. It was incredible. Needless to say, when I caught wind of the dates for the Frolic this year, I was super excited!

Fellow Bee Courtney and I decided to check out this year's market together, and it did not disappoint.

The Knitter's Frolic was held at the Japanese Cultural Center, and we arrived right at 9am to quite the impressive line up! Obviously we weren't the only ones excited for some yarn shopping that morning.

Right away the Centre was buzzing with excited knitters, crocheters, and fibre artists; fun!



In addition to the marketplace, the Knitter's Frolic also hosted a wide array of workshops, ranging from crochet for beginners, to entrelac on the round, and pattern drafting. Courtney and I decided to start off the day with an introduction to fair isle, taught by Gloria Williams.

I've always had trouble wrapping my head (and fingers) around knitting with both my left and right hands, but thanks to this workshop, I've got my continental knitting skills down pat. Neither Courtney nor I have ever had formal lessons in knitting, and we both found it very helpful to have a instructor to follow, rather than trying to figure it out ourselves.

After all our hard work in class and a quick snack to boost our energy, it was time to indulge in some yummy yarn!

Beautiful display by Manos Del Uruguay.

Viola Fibers!

We had the pleasure to make acquaintance with Emily Folden, the beauty and brains behind Viola Fibers. Isn't she adorable? Her yarn and colourways are to dye for (pardon the pun)!

Mmm, sock yarn! Sock yarn is my preferred yarn to knit with. Courtney took home several skeins in this curry colourway. We thought it was particularly Beehive-ish! Very pretty. I took home a really pretty robins egg blue skein; the one pictured below.



Now the question is: what to make from our newly acquired stash! That will have to be another post altogether.

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A quick thank you to all that applied to our Beehive Summer Craft Fair! We will be reviewing the applications this week, and will let applicants know of our decisions by May 12th.

Happy Wednesday!